Gas liquid separator arrangements are used in various environments. In one example, gas liquid separator arrangements are used in conventional air compressor systems. In air compressor systems, air is compressed in a compression chamber, and a lubricant, such as oil, is injected into the compression chamber and mixes with the compressed air. The oil is used for various reasons including cooling the system, lubricating bearings, balancing forces, and providing seals for rotary screws, if the system is a rotary screw system. The oil should be removed from the stream of compressed air before the compressed air is used downstream for tools or pneumatic equipment.
In some conventional arrangements, the compressed air and oil mixture is discharged from the compressor and flows with a high velocity into a separator tank where the air and oil of the mixture are separated. Various types of separator arrangements have been used. In many systems, after the oil is separated from the air/oil mixture, gravity causes most of the oil to drain downwardly into a lower portion of the separation chamber, while the air flows upwardly into an upper portion of the separation chamber. The drained or coalesced oil collects in a bottom portion of the separator and is returned to the compressor by a scavenge tube.
Improvements in these types of systems are desirable.